She's Mine!
by Mo C.S.L
Summary: When a new Avenger joins SHIELD, the fighting begins between two of the Avengers. Steve didn't think he could love again after Peggy, and Clint didn't think there was someone for him besides Natasha. They were both wrong. Steve/Oc/Clint love triangle. Might change title, if I come up with a better one.
1. What?

_A/N: Hey. I just recently saw The Avengers and went totally crazy for it. It's my first Avengers fic. I have two things you should probably know. 1. I know NOTHING outside of the movie. I don't read the comics, cause I'm not a big fan of comics. 2. I only saw the movie twice. So I'm sorry if I get a lot of things wrong. I'll try to look it up before I type :) I think I have a fairly good grasp of most of the characters, but I do apologize if I make them ooc. I hope you enjoy! :)  
_

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the Marvel universe. If I did, Loki would rule the world. MUHUHAHAAAA! xD **

**Chapter 1: What?  
**

It was a typical day in New York. Busy pedestrians rushing to work and cars zipping by. Iron Man flying around Stark Tower and testing out his repaired suit. Nothing was out of place. Everything was normal. All of the Avengers(Minus Iron Man and Thor) were inside of Stark Tower working on things of their own. After the battle in Manhattan, Stark Tower pretty much became like a base camp for the team. Clint and Natasha were in the spacious gym practicing. Clint seemed to be going easy on Natasha, but if she knew it, she didn't say.

Steve was in his temporary room, trying to remember how to work the very complicated flat screen TV. There weren't any TVs when he was growing up, so he wasn't positive on how to work one. Tony had shown him earlier, but he couldn't remember exactly what each button on the remote did. There was a DVR button(Whatever that meant), a swap button, and some little swirly arrow... With a huff, he just changed the channel.

Bruce, who was normally down in one of the labs, was sitting comfortably on the couch while reading a book about atomic structure. It was stuff he already knew about, but he still enjoyed refreshing his memory with the information. Little did they know, they were about to get a few visitors...

Outside, Iron Man was slightly startled as a sudden roll of thunder echoed throughout the city. Lighting lit up the sky and rogue bolt hit the very tip of Stark Tower. It was no mystery to Tony that Thor was coming on earth to visit. He had done this a few times previously. Thor flew out of the sky, Mjolnir spinning furiously as he descended.

"Jarvis, inform everyone of Thor's arrival," Tony said, landing down and walking toward the Norse god, his suit stripping off as he went along.

"Friend Tony!" Thor boomed, moving closer to shake his hand.

"Hey, Point Break."

Tony withdrew his hand from Thor's bone-crushing grip.

"And I still do not get why you call me that," Thor muttered. "Where are the others?"

"Inside. Doing whatever the hell it is they do. Capsicle is probably trying to figure out modern technology, Legolas and Ginger Snaps are probably killing each other in the gym, and Green Rage Monster is doing some lab work."

"The names you call them is quite amusing," Thor chuckled, merrily striding into Stark Tower and depositing Mjolnir on the floor.

Steve entered the room not even a moment later, looking slightly peeved.

"Hello Thor," he said.

"Greetings, Captain of America!"

A bone-crushing handshake later, the other three Avengers had come up. Each had given Thor a greeting and afterwards, they had decided to order pizza for an early dinner. Steve was currently sitting on the couch while Thor and Tony shoved movies down his throat. Thor wanted to watch Lord of the Rings, while Tony wanted to watch Star Wars.

"Why can't Natasha choose for me?" Steve muttered, feeling harassed.

"Oh no. I already told you. I'm staying out of this," she said from the kitchen.

He couldn't really blame her.

"Fine. How about Lord of the Rings?" He shrugged.

Thor jumped up in triumph. Tony groaned. After a lot of complaining from the billionaire, the movie was plopped into the DVD player and they settled down with their pizza. Steve chewed on his slices, not really paying attention to the movie. He didn't understand it. With a sigh, he finished his fifth slice of pizza and stared out the window. It must've been almost six. He glanced sideways at the others.

Tony and Clint were discussing the movie, Clint rolling his eyes at almost everything Tony said. Natasha and Bruce were simply watching the movie. Thor was practically pressed against the screen. Steve smiled slightly. They were practically a family. One, big, screwed up family.

"Sir," Jarvis spoke suddenly, "Director Fury is asking to be connected through video."

Tony glanced up.

"He says it's urgent."

With a sigh, Tony paused the movie.

"Connect him through the television, Jarvis."

"Yes sir."

A moment later, Nick Fury appeared on the screen.

"Hello Avengers. Is that Thor?" He asked, almost puzzled by the god's presence.

"Yes. I came to visit," Thor said.

"Well good. Now I don't have to call on you. Anyway, I have some important news to deliver to you," Fury began, receiving the utmost attention of Steve, Clint, and Natasha. "There have recently been a series of bombings in the United Kingdom. It has gotten so severe, that my superiors believe we should call on the help of you. If you accept, I can send over a map of the targeted areas and give you more information..."

Clint and Natasha exchanged glances, almost smirking slightly. They were so used to things like this, that it was almost like a game of chess. Steve was actually concerned about it. He was usually concerned about anything threatening the lives of others. Even if it wasn't his country.

"If it's in Harry Potter Land, why are we being called to help?" Tony asked.

Nick glared at the man. "It may very well affect other countries, including America."

Bruce looked genuinely curious now.

Steve opened his mouth, "That severe?"

Fury nodded, "Yes. And well...that's not the end of the news..."

"There's more?" Clint asked, tone a bit disbelieving.

Nick sighed. "It is...against my decision. But since I can't call all the shots, a lot of things happen against my will." Seeing that everyone had finally stopped interrupting him to pay attention, he took advantage of that. "It has been decided that there will be a seventh member added to the team."

A stunned silence followed. Steve glanced around, shocked. Even Tony seemed surprised. He decided to speak, since no one was blabbing and he had an open opportunity.

"Is that really necessary, sir?"

"I...I don't believe it is, but like I said before, I can't decide everything," Nick said.

Steve pursed his lips, glancing at the others once more.

"Can we have more information on this new Agent?" Bruce asked quietly.

"Yeah," Natasha piped up.

The rest of them nodded, including Steve.

Nick stood up, folding his hands behind his back and pacing a bit.

"Her name is Agent Roxanne Barnes-"

"Woah, wait it's a chick?" Tony asked, seeming more interested. "Now Capsicle and Rage Monster might have possible girlfriend material!"

Bruce blushed furiously, mumbling something about how he didn't need the stress. Steve blushed a tad himself, but waved it off.

"Let Fury finish," Natasha hissed impatiently.

Everyone went silent once more and Nick began again, "Her name is Agent Roxanne Barnes. She is another victim of the replicated super soldier serum."

Bruce looked up with wide eyes. He was obviously hoping that she wasn't like himself.

"Don't worry, Doctor. As unstable as her emotions are, she isn't like that..." Nick sighed. He really didn't seem too sure about her. "We don't know all that much. She has also apparently had extensive assassin training. If I knew more, I would tell you. She has done a great job of keeping her past hidden. She does seem willing to cooperate with us and work with you."

He glanced at the pizza boxes on the side tables, "I hope you have enough for one more. I'm sending her up now. Play nice."

Without another word, Nick disappeared and the screen went black. Steve stood up, brushing himself off and glancing toward the elevator.

"That was..."

"Weird? Creepy? Amazingly obnoxious?"

"Shut up, Tony. We don't need any of your 'humor' right now..."

Tony rolled his eyes at Steve, "Jarvis. Make sure Agent Barnes gets up here without any complications."

"Yes, sir," Jarvis responded.

"Ooh. Is Tony Stark actually following Fury's advice and playing nice?" Clint asked with a smirk. "It would be more like you to make her have _more _than enough complications."

Tony glared, "We just don't know exactly who we're dealing with. Fury also said 'as unstable as her emotions are'. Don't you listen?"

"I do listen, but you're not one to listen, so it's odd."

"But if I-"

_Ding!_

The elevator light blinked on and everyone's attention went to it. A moment later, the elevator _dinged_ once more and the doors slid open. A young woman stepped out of it. She had a navy blue cat suit on with a few different guns attached to her calves and thighs. Her skin was very pale and she had honey brown hair with a reddish tint to it that hung just below her shoulders. Her right eye was completely covered with her bangs, but her left eye was visible. It was a deep brown.

The most prominent feature on her face was a thick scar that ran from her left cheek across her nose and disappearing behind her bangs. A small suitcase was in her hand. She didn't seem happy at all. She seemed angry and cold. Steve glanced over at Thor when he stepped forward.

"Hello! I am Thor Odinson! You are Rox of Anne?" He boomed, holding out his hand for her to shake.

She ignored his hovering hand, "It's Roxanne. Where am I staying?"

Thor was taken aback by her rudeness. Bruce also seemed surprised, but he looked more as if he was analyzing her. Clint was eying her critically and Natasha just watched the scene with mild interest.

Tony crossed his arms, "Looks like we got another Ginger Snaps. What should we call you? Scarface?"

Natasha glared angrily at Tony when he used the nickname, but her glare was nothing compared to Roxanne's.

"What did you just call me?" She snapped, brown eye narrowing.

"Scarface?" Tony raised an eyebrow, a small smirk playing at his lips.

Steve didn't know if the others noticed, but a very brief flash of hurt crossed her face when Tony mentioned 'scar'.

"Don't. Call. Me. That," she said through gritted teeth. "Just show me where my damn room is."

"I'll show you," Steve offered, his voice sounding quieter than usual.

Roxanne's chocolate eye snapped to him, looking him up and down. Examining him.

"Okay," she said curtly, walking towards him.

Steve turned, walking down the hallway with the new agent on his heels. She really seemed to want to be alone. He wondered what she didn't like about them. I mean sure, Tony was a pain in the ass and Clint and Natasha could be a bit cold, but they weren't that bad. With every step he took, he felt her gaze on him. He glanced back to see her staring and his neck prickled uncomfortably. He didn't like the feeling he got when she watched him like she was.

They finally reached the end of the hallway and Steve opened the last door on the right, stepping aside to let her in.

"Here," he smiled politely.

Roxanne took a step in, setting down her tiny suitcase as soon as she was in. The room was spacious. A queen sized bed with dark wood dressers and a flat screen television on the wall across from the bed. There was a walk-in closet on the left side of the bed and a master bathroom on the right. All of the rooms the Avengers stayed in were basically the same except for Tony's. His was twice the size with much more.

She took in her surroundings and Steve cleared his throat.

"Roxanne?"

"What now?" She growled, spinning around to face him.

He was speechless as her bangs flew out of her right eye to reveal a bright green orb. The thick, grotesque scar ran right through the middle of her right eye. She blinked rapidly, realizing what had just happened and hastily retreating into her room and slamming the door.

"W-welcome to Stark tower..." Steve murmured, turning and leaving the new agent to herself.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry if this totally sucked. I'm really trying to improve my writing, especially with introductions. I'm horrible at first chapters, so I sort of bounced around from POV's in the very beginning. I will probably be mainly doing Clint's and Steve's POV, occasionally throwing Roxanne's in the mix. I also severely apologize if anyone was a bit ooc. Like I said before, I only saw the movie twice, and since my head is about as dense as a rock cake... Er...Anyway, I originally wasn't planning to have Roxanne in the first chapter, but I couldn't think of anything better. **

**I also apologize about the mission thingy Fury sorta assigned. I didn't have too much of a plot for that, but I decided to throw it in, cause I like action. I'm excited for future chapters so I can reveal more of Roxanne's character. It's going to be a bit darker than my usual stories, but I'm hoping it comes out okay. Constructive criticism is welcomed as long as you aren't rude about it. Hope you liked!**

**Morgan  
**


	2. An Interesting Way to Start the Day

_A/N: Thanks for all of the favorites and follows! I truly wasn't expecting so many, maybe one or two only. And also thanks to MushroomKing98 for my first review to this story! And TeamLoki for the second and Peace and Blessings for the third! I am also going to start two more stories eventually. A Bruce/OC one and a Loki/OC one. I just can't stop coming up with ideas xD Hope you enjoy this chapter. It's from Clint's POV. _

**Chapter 2: Interesting Way to Start the Day**_  
_

Clint woke up to the sound of banging on his door. He groaned, sitting up and rubbing his blurry eyes. The banging continued and he could hear the slightly muffled voice of Natasha.

"Wake up, Bird Brain!"

He smiled slightly. She only ever called him that when she was irritated with him. She must have been banging on his door for quite some time.

"Relax, Tasha, I'm up," he said huskily, his voice laced with exhaustion. He definitely wasn't a morning person.

The banging stopped, "Well hurry up."

Clint rubbed his face, wondering why Natasha was so impatient today. He heard Natasha's footsteps echoing as she walked away. After a moment, he got out of bed, stumbling into the bathroom. He looked at himself in the mirror. His short hair was as messy as it could get and his eyes grazed over some of the smaller nicks and scars he had. He could remember where and when he got each and every one of them. After a quick washing up, he exited the bathroom and his room.

Still in his sleeping clothes, he walked down the hallway and to the kitchen, where everyone had gathered. Thor was fully dressed in his Asgardian wear and everyone else was gathered around him. The only person missing was Roxanne.

"What's going on?" Clint asked sleepily.

"A problem has arisen in Asgard with Loki. I must return at once," Thor informed.

Clint blinked. He sure wasn't expecting that. Could Loki be the one behind the problems in England? It was a good possibility.

"What happened with him?" Clint asked, sitting down on a bar stool and leaning on the counter.

"Loki has disappeared out of his cell in Asgard. His current location is unknown," Thor said gravely.

Clint sighed, glancing over at Natasha. She shrugged, simply confirming that it could be Loki, but also not.

"I should probably leave soon. But I would like to say goodbye to Rox of Anne."

Clint raised his eyebrows. He didn't know why Thor would want to do that. She was completely rude and anti-social. She didn't even come out of her room last night after she went in it.

"Why the hell would you want to do that?" Tony asked with a snort.

Thor shrugged, "She is an Avenger, is she not?"

"Well, I _guess_, but that doesn't mean anything."

"Why don't you go get her?"

Tony huffed, "Steve can do it."

Steve blinked rapidly, shifting in discomfort, "Uh, no thank you..."

"Aww. Is Captain America scared of a female half his size?"

Steve shot a glare, "No..."

"Fine. Jarvis can pick for us. Jarvis, do a random name-pick."

"Yes sir," the AL responded promptly. Jeopardy music began to play as Jarvis picked a random name. "I picked Barton, sir."

Tony smirked smugly when his name wasn't picked, "Alright, Hawk Boy. Get off your ass and go get Scarface."

Clint nearly groaned, standing up, "You should've sent Hulk in there instead."

With a disapproving look from Bruce, he exited the room and cautiously made his way down the hallway. His senses were on high alert as he neared the end of the hall where her room was. Slowly, he approached the door and knocked on it loudly. He waited for a moment and there was no answer. He raised his fist once more and knocked louder. Still there was no answer. Clint reached out for the doorknob, hand hovering hesitantly over it for a moment before he grasped it and turned.

The door was locked. Figures. He silently turned and strode down the hall to where his room was, entering it and heading to his dresser drawers. He opened the top one, rummaging for a few minutes before finding what he needed. A lock-picker. He closed the drawer and went back to Roxanne's door. It barely took him five seconds and he had the door opened.

Clint pushed the door open and peered inside. The bed was made and the whole room was neat and tidy. Roxanne was no where to be seen. Curious, he took a step inside, but he quickly froze. What was he doing? He was an assassin. He knew better than this. Anything could happen.

"Scared?"

The next thing he knew, he was being pinned against the wall. Small, fragile fingers were clenched around the collar of his shirt, delivering a surprising amount of force to his neck. Roxanne had apparently sprung on him when he wasn't paying enough attention. Her dark eye seemed to stare into his soul as he shifted so the pressure she was applying to him wasn't so much on his neck.

"You wish," he muttered, quickly hooking his foot behind her knee and sending her crashing to the floor.

She laid still for a moment, smirking up at him, "Finally. Someone who is a bit of a challenge..."

"A bit?" He raised an eyebrow, only to feel himself falling.

Roxanne rolled out of his way and jumped to her feet, putting a foot down on his stomach to hold him down on the ground. Clint smirked slightly. It was actually quite fun. When he and Natasha fought, it was a challenge because they knew each other's moves. But this was a challenge in a whole new way. Neither of them knew how each other fought. They were both fighting in the dark.

Clint twisted her ankle and brought her flying toward her bed. He jumped up, not wasting a second in grabbing her arms tightly and shoving them behind her back and toward her shoulder blades. He could feel her muscles tense up beneath his hands.

"Not so cocky now, are you?"

Roxanne said nothing, closing her eyes for a moment before aiming a kick at Clint's stomach. He avoided it, but had to let go of her arms to do so. She spun around and sat up, rubbing her wrists for a moment and eying him. Apparently she had thought he wouldn't be too much of a challenge. In the blink of an eye, she had jumped from the bed, kicked off of the wall, and lunged at him.

He just had enough time to ready himself for the blow when he was tackled to the ground. She pushed his chest hard into the ground, quickly brushing her bangs back into her right eye. Clint just hoped that Tony didn't walk in. He would definitely make some smart ass joke. His mind went into overdrive as he went through numerous ways to get out of this situation.

Finally choosing one, he grabbed her waist and flung her over his head. She landed hard on her back and he could hear her gasping and choking as her lungs refused to let in the oxygen she needed. He knew she had only gotten the wind knocked out of her, so he wasn't concerned. He spun sideways onto all fours and crawled over, putting his hands on her shoulders and pinning her down.

It was then that he saw her right eye. He nearly loosened his grip in surprise as her bright green eye stared at him. Despite her strikingly bright eye, the scar that was only partially visible before was completely visible now. It ran right through her eye and was quite grotesque. It was a complete contrast of her eye. Roxanne shook her head hastily to get her bangs back in her eye. He had seen something he wasn't supposed to.

Clint let go of her shoulders and sat up, panting sightly and holding his hand out to her, "Good fight."

She blinked at him, sitting up and avoiding his hand altogether, "I guess so..."

He cleared his throat, "Thor wants to see you before he leaves."

She raised an eyebrow, "Oh..."

They both stood to their feet. Roxanne brushed past him and exited the bedroom, face turning from shocked and confused to cold and hard. He had to admit, she was a damn good fighter. Not nearly as good as Natasha, but still good. He followed her out, keeping a good distance between each other as they went into the kitchen. Thor looked very impatient.

"Geez. Why'd it take you so long?" Tony snorted as he watched them enter. "Getting to know her a little better? I think you should probably lay off, cause Ginger here would be pissed."

Clint swiftly pulled a knife out of a nearby drawer and chucked it at Tony's head. He ducked just in time. It flew right into the wall. Natasha smirked from beside him.

"Hey! No knife throwing! You could've killed me!" Tony yelped.

"That _would _be the idea," Clint said casually, smirking slightly.

Thor raised his hand for silence. Everybody looked at him.

"I would just like to say a farewell to all of you. I have had a wondrous time. Hopefully, once Loki is found and contained once more then I can return to Midgard and help you," he stepped toward the door, "farewell, my comrades!"

He swung Mjolnir and ascended into the air, disappearing as he reached the stormy clouds. Roxanne turned, heading in the direction of her room again. Tony jumped toward her, blocking her way.

"No, no, no! You can't leave. We all need to get to know little Roxy better! All we know is that you are rude and anti-social."

"Politeness and sociability does not help get jobs done," she muttered.

"Um, I kinda think it does," Bruce mumbled.

Tony smirked, "Always listen to the scientist."

"How about always listen to the person who can kill you if you don't get out of my way," Roxanne snapped.

Clint watched the scene unfold, grinning to himself. She did seem quite a bit like Natasha. Maybe a little more cold and rude, but stubborn all the same.

Tony leaned casually against the wall, so his feet were blocking one side and his torso was blocking the other, "Touchy! There are six other people in this room who can kill me, but I don't see them trying to...besides Hawk Boy..."

"That's because he's smart," she said slowly, almost as if she didn't like complimenting anyone, "either the others are too nice, or they aren't capable. But I really think it's the former. Now get out of my way."

Roxanne stepped over his legs, avoiding Tony's attempts to grab her arm and slipping down the hallway. Once she was back in her room, Tony spoke.

"Dang. She sure is like Ginger."

He was barely able to avoid the coffee cup that came flying at his head.

* * *

**A/N: Yay! I updated quickly! But I hope you know that I usually don't. It usually takes me a month to update one story if it's just a normal month. Two if I've been busy or working on other stories. The fighting scene in this chapter was a lot longer than I intended it to be, but I just couldn't stop! I had to force myself to say 'hey, that's enough!****' xD I hope I kept Clint in character fairly well. I also hoped that you enjoyed this chapter! Since I'm really liking this story so far(And because I got grounded from the TV for a week), I might, just might update within the next week or so. But I do have other things going on, so no promises. Thanks for reading!  
**

**Morgan  
**


	3. Tension

_A/N: Thank you guys for all of the hits/reviews/follows and favorites! I'm really on a roll with this story! I just can't stop(Probably cause I can't watch TV xD)! And I'm hoping to start my Loki/Oc story this week called I Have a Heart. If you're a Loki fan, you might enjoy it. I hope you enjoy this installment of She's Mine! The chapter was slightly inspired by the song_ **Mystery of You **_by_ **Red**_(I don't own it!). By the way, I'm sorry if I got Pepper OOC. I've never seen Iron Man, so I don't really know that much about her.  
_

**Chapter 3: Tension  
**

Steve didn't really know what had happened this morning. One second, Roxanne was out of her room and Thor was leaving. The next second, she was back in her room and Thor was gone. He wondered what Clint must have had to do to get her to come out of her room. They might have sparred. Maybe a lot of cursing and persuading. He wasn't sure. With a sigh, he plopped himself down on the couch, glancing back at Tony and Pepper, who were arguing. Pepper had apparently awoken.

Just showed how much Steve was paying attention. He leaned against the pillow on the couch and listened to what Pepper and Tony were saying.

"If you go in there and start yelling, It's going to resolve nothing! She'll probably kick your ass anyway!" Pepper exclaimed.

"Then what am I supposed to do? Throw flowers everywhere while skipping around in circles and hope for the best?"

Steve had to chuckle at that. It was a rather funny mental image. Tony Stark, the prancing little flower girl.

"You have to be patient and gentle. By the way you make her sound, it seems like she just needs a friend."

Tony groaned, "I'm in no way patient or gentle. Unless it's with you..."

Pepper snorted, "You're just trying to butter up to me so I'll go in there. I'm not really either of those. So I won't be of any help."

"Then who could... Wait! Captain Spandex!"

Steve's head jerked up. He hated being called that. Feeling a bit grumpier than a moment ago, he stood up.

"What?"

Tony smirked, "I think you should go and get Roxanne."

"Why me? Bruce is also patient and gentle," he pointed out.

Iron Man shrugged, "Yeah, but he could Hulk-out at any second. Better not risk it."

Bruce glanced up silently from the corner.

"Why not Natasha, then? They're both girls. They can chat up girly things...or something of that sort..."

Tony laughed, "Yeah. I really doubt _that _would work. Ginger'd probably knock her out. Plus she's on the roof with Clint. They're probably making out or something. Better not disturb that," he paused, "on second thought, I'll be right back!"

He turned and strode off to the elevator. Sighing, Steve turned to Pepper, who was rolling her eyes at the childish Tony.

"You should go get her... I'm sure you'll convince her," Pepper said.

"I guess you're probably right," Steve sighed.

"Go get her, Tiger!"

With a small glance of confusion her way, he started down the hallway to Roxanne's room. For some reason that girl scared him. He was a soldier. He fought in wars. Why was he so scared of this one little female Avenger? It seemed like he blinked and he was already at her door. He bit his lip before knocking loudly on the door. He waited a moment but there was no answer. He knocked again. He listened intently and he could hear rustling on the inside.

"What is it now?" Her voice was muffled because of the door, but it was easy to hear the irritation.

"Uh, it's Steve. Can I talk to you?"

There was a loud click and the door opened. Roxanne stood there, looking at him as if she were sizing him up. Just like she did when they first met.

"Fine," she leaned against the door frame, waiting for him to speak.

"Uh, well, Tony really feels that you shouldn't be so anti-social and rude... He'd really like you to come out and...mingle."

Steve glanced at her, only to see she hadn't moved and inch, nor had her expression changed at all. Confused, he spoke again.

"Roxanne?"

And then she laughed.

Bewildered, he watched with wide eyes as she continued to laugh. He had no idea why she just decided to laugh. Was she making fun of him?

"You're funny," she said as she got the last few chuckles out.

"W-what?" He asked, still completely confused.

Roxanne rolled her eyes, "I said that you're funny. You're like Stark's little minion. As a matter of fact most of you guys are. I'm pretty sure you didn't come all the way here to get me because you wanted to. Fine. If you want me to come out, I will, but by no means is this because I want to make Stark happy."

Steve blinked, "Okay then. Ladies first."

He stepped aside to let her step past him and down the hall. She walked very slowly, as if she was regretting this. He wondered if she just didn't want to see Tony, or if it was because she just didn't want to be out of her 'cave'. When they entered the Living Room, it wasn't a surprise to see Tony waiting for them. He grinned.

"Looks like Capsicle might not be so idiotic after all. Come here, Rox, and sit."

Roxanne tensed as soon as she saw him. She definitely did _not _get along with Tony. She stiffly walked over to the couch and sat down on the other end, knotting her limbs together tightly and glaring at the floor. Steve slowly made his way over also, opting to sit in a chair instead of on the couch with the other two. He glanced between Tony and Roxanne.

"So, Scarface, how come you hate everyone?"

The female tensed even more if it was possible, but kept her gaze trained on the floor. She seemed determined not to answer him.

"Or are you just one of those people who hate the world for no good reason?"

Steve watched Roxanne intently. Besides her tension, she was doing a pretty god job disguising her emotions. Not that it mattered right now, since Tony was too blind to pay attention to minor changes in someone's expressions. He himself, however, could see the very minor changes in her every time Stark continued. He could see that when she was called Scarface, a glitter of pain flashed in her eyes. Or when Tony talked about her hating everyone, she flinched just the slightest.

There was something that happened in her past that must have traumatized her. He felt pity for her. Steve could relate to her in a way. And then all of the memories were flooding back to him. The war. Fighting against Red Skull. Saying goodbye to Peggy... He swallowed the lump in his throat, returning to the present to realize he was just as tense as Roxanne was. His hands gripped the armrests tightly and he sat straight and rigid.

"Looks like Cap is turning into little Roxy," Tony commented, making Steve's attention snap to the billionaire.

"Don't call me that!" Roxanne snapped, jumping to her feet.

Steve had no idea how calling her 'Roxy' would set her off so badly.

"Oh. So you don't like it when I call you Roxy?" Tony asked with a small smirk, still sitting casually in the same spot.

No one was prepared when she leaped at Tony, an emotion very clearly visible on her face. Anger. With quick reflexes, he was able to snag her arm before she was on Tony. She struggled against his grip, making him also grab her other arm so he could restrain her. No matter how strong she was, she still wasn't able to escape the Super Soldier's grip. He took a step back, dragging her with him as she continued to struggle.

She wasn't going to give up anytime soon.

"I think it's better if she's not here," he told Tony briskly, practically picking up the female and carrying her out of the room. He winced as she was able to aim a kick at his gut, holding her tighter so she couldn't hurt him anymore. Once they were out of the room, he put her down.

"Let me go," she hissed, moving her arms in discomfort at his tight grip.

Steve immediately let go, folding his arms across his chest.

"Roxanne, you need to get a hold of yourself. You can't keep doing that. Especially if we are going to be in a life threatening situation," he said calmly.

She looked angry for a moment, opening her mouth to protest but then she paused, "Life threatening? What?"

"I accepted the mission in Britain."

* * *

**A/N: Hey. Sorry this chapter is so short and not my best work. I had a little trouble with Tony in this chapter, but I really wanted to get this out there. So I just kinda left him as is. Just like in the last chapter where we saw a little Clint/Roxanne bonding, I threw some Steve/Roxanne bonding in this one. Steve is starting to discover that Roxanne is a really troubled person. The mission has been accepted. What will the next chapter bring? *Grins* You'll find out soon! Hope you enjoyed!**

**Morgan  
**


	4. UK Bound

_A/N: Thanks to the review and favorites and follows! So I do have reference of a Skillet song in here... I do not own it!  
_

**Chapter 4: UK Bound**_  
_

Clint didn't really know what happened. One second, everyone was calm and relaxed and the next all hell had broken loose. Everyone - minus Tony and Roxanne - were scrambling around and grabbing things as quickly as they could. He didn't even know what was going on. When he tried to ask Natasha earlier, she snapped at him and told him to go away. He had a feeling that it had to do with the mission, but since he wasn't positive, he couldn't do anything besides pack. He already had his bags packed in case his hunch was correct, but he was planing on asking Steve what was going on.

Steve would give him a straightforward answer. Clint then proceeded to look in the spots Cap hung out the most. His bedroom, the living room, the kitchen... Nope. He then realized, after a half hour of searching, that he could simply ask Jarvis.

"Hey Jarvis?"

"Yes, Mr. Barton?" The AI responded immediately in his formal British accent.

"Where is Rogers?"

"It seems he is in Miss Barnes room."

Clint raised an eyebrow, "Thanks, Jarvis."

He swiftly made his way down the hallway and to Roxanne's room. He was just about to knock when the door opened and Steve came out. He looked somewhere between frightened and awkward. Blinking, Clint took a step backwards.

"Hey Steve. What's going on, exactly?"

The other man straightened out, "Oh did Natasha not tell you?"

He shook his head, "She yelled at me when I tried to ask..."

The smallest of smiles passed across Steve's lips, "We're heading for Britain... I accepted the mission."

Clint nodded, rubbing the back of his neck, "That's what I thought. Just wanted to make sure. Thanks, Cap. I'll finish getting ready."

"Okay. We're leaving in an hour."

Clint nodded and the Captain sidestepped him and continued down the hall. He turned and went to where his room was, unlocking the door and entering. He always kept his door locked just in case. As an assassin, he was trained to be very careful and he wasn't going to take a chance, even though Tony's tower was expertly secure. Since he was mostly packed, he decided he would take a nice hot shower.

He turned on the hot water and stripped down, getting in and relishing the wet heat that covered his body. For a brief moment, he was reminded of Loki. He quickly shook his head and shoved the thought as far away in his head as he could. He didn't need to be reminded of that. After a nice wash, he dressed in back jeans and a red T-shirt and finished packing. He placed his bow case, quiver, and arrows in last and zipped up the suitcase.

Clint glanced at the clock to see it was twenty minutes to four. With a soft sigh he lugged his suitcase out of his room and set it down. Tony appeared out of the first bedroom and glanced down to him. His lips twisted into a smirk and he came over.

"Hey, Katniss. Heard you had a fight with Romanoff."

Clint raised an eyebrow, mentally reminding himself to confront Steve later, "I don't know where you get your information from, Stark. Might wanna update Jarvis."

Tony snorted, "Whatever you say. You ready to leave? As soon as everyone's ready, we're heading out."

"No I'm not ready. I just put my suitcase out in the hallway for no reason," Clint said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"Geez, what's with the attitude, Legolas? Fine. Since you're ready, you can come with me down to the basement to put your suitcase in the car."

"And why do I have to go with you?"

"Pft. You think I trust you with my cars? Pur-lease!"

Tony opened his bedroom door and leaned down, picking up three humungous suitcases. He could barely hold it all. Clint wondered why the billionaire needed so much stuff.

"Pack your whole bedroom?"

"I only brought what I can't live without," Tony said matter-of-factly.

"So pretty much everything, then? Is Pepper in there too?" Clint had to bite his tongue to keep him from saying more.

Tony glanced back at him with a smirk, wriggling his eyebrows, "If I could, I would."

Clint shook his head at the playboy and entered the elevator with him. The doors closed and loud rock music began to blare. He recognized it as AC/DC, but he wasn't sure of the song. He did know that Tony liked that band a lot, so it wasn't hard to guess the band. Neither of them said a word as the elevator descended down to the basement. The ride was fairly quick, thanks to Stark tech. He exited the elevator and glanced around the spacious basement.

Very fancy cars were lined up in a row. He wondered which one they would be taking. Then again, they'd probably be taking more than one. They couldn't all fit into one car.

"We're taking the Chevy Camaro," Tony said, nodding over to the orange car with black stripes. He tapped in a code on the panel on the wall and a little hidden drawer came out of the wall. He took a set of keys and went over to the Camaro, opening the trunk.

Clint took his suitcase and put it in the trunk. Tony came back over with his suitcases and tossed them in the trunk next to Clint's.

"Who else is sitting with us?" He asked Tony.

"Roxanne."

"Oh..."

The philanthropist gave him another smirk, "Jarvis, tell everyone else to get down here."

After a moment of silence, the AI spoke, "They have been informed, sir and are coming down."

It wasn't long before Steve, Natasha, and Bruce were coming out of the elevator.

The first words out of Tony's mouth were, "Where's Roxanne?"

Steve shrugged, "I thought she was down here with you guys."

"I'm waiting."

Clint's head jerked to where her voice came from. She was already sitting in the back of the Camaro, buckled up and ready to go. Her legs were crossed tightly and her visible eyebrow was raised.

Tony blinked, "Oh well, Bruce, you can drive Natasha and Steve. Take the Lexus." He tossed the keys to Bruce, who caught them. "If you need help with directions, just ask Jarvis."

Bruce glanced back at him, "You installed Jarvis in your cars?"

Stark smirked smugly, "Yup."

The scientist looked fairly impressed and headed over to the silver Lexus and unlocked it. Natasha swiftly walked up also, getting in shotgun before Steve even had the thought to. He awkwardly got in the back seat and shut the door. Clint snickered and walked up to the passenger seat of the Camaro and got in. Tony got in the driver's side after him and started the car.

And that's when the roller coaster ride started.

Clint figured Tony would be a crazy driver, but not _that _crazy. Within the first two minutes, they nearly hit three people and one other car.

"Sir, I would advise you to slow down," Jarvis's voice came out of the speakers.

"Turn on some music, Jarvis," he said, ignoring what he said before.

And just like in the elevator, loud rock music blared. Clint turned to look back at Roxanne. She was gripping the seat tightly, trying to retain her balance. She, however, perked up when the song changed. She must've recognized it.

_This is the last night you'll spend alone.  
_

_Look me in the eyes so I know you know, I'm everywhere you want me to be.  
_

_The last night you'll spend alone.  
_

_I'll wrap you in my arms and I won't let go, I'm everywhere you need me to be.  
_

"Ugh, Jarvis, change the song," Tony said._  
_

"No," Roxanne said quickly.

Tony looked at her in the rear view mirror, "My car, my songs."

"If you change the song, I will personally use your head as a target," she said venomously.

"Fine, fine..."

Roxanne smirked smugly and sat back in her seat.

A long ride of threatening and speeding later, they arrived at Tony's private airport. Roxanne was the first one out of the car and she was already getting her bag out of the trunk by the time Clint even got unbuckled. With a sigh, he got out of the car and retrieved his suitcase. Moments later, Bruce drove up and came to a nice stop. The three of them exited the Lexus and joined up with everyone else.

Natasha came to his side and gave a very small smile, "How was riding with Tony?"

"That's a stupid question. It was like a roller coaster. Maybe worse," Clint snorted.

She grinned slightly, "Well you should've rode with us."

"Hey Romeo and Juliet! If you're not busy, we have a plane to ride!" Tony shouted at the two from across the lot.

Natasha shot Stark a glare and walked toward where they were. Clint jogged to catch up with a pissed off Natasha and together they walked to the plane. Just as he expected, it was a fancy, private jet with comfortable leather seats and a flat screen TV. Tony was already arguing with Steve and they hadn't even been in the plane for a minute. This was going to be a long trip...

* * *

**A/N: More of a filler chapter than anything, but we do learn a tiny bit about Roxy! And I loved writing the banter between Tony and Clint. That was probably my favorite part! With the cars, I just picked random cars after looking up pictures xD I'm really not a car person. Again, this wasn't my best chapter, I just have to come up with some more ideas for the next few chapters. Hope you liked this installment and thanks so much for your support! Next chapter will be the plane ride.  
**

**Morgan  
**


	5. Five Hours too Long

_A/N: Taking the advice from one of my reviewers, I've decided to tone Roxanne's attitude down a notch or two. I might possibly go back and edit previous chapters, but at the moment, I'm just going to keep writing. I did outline this chapter so maybe it will flow a bit better than previous chapters. Hope you enjoy!_

**Chapter 5: Five Hours too Long**_  
_

Steve felt the irritation prickle in his skin when Tony continued to object to his ideas for a plan. He couldn't help but think that he was a better leader than Tony. He wasn't perfect, he definitely knew _that. _But Tony was on the reckless side. He had changed since the battle in Manhattan, but he was still rather careless when it came to things.

"All I'm saying is that we should go sight-seeing first. The last time I was in Britain, there was this really nice liquor store a few blacks away from the London Eye..."

Steve sighed, shaking his head, "We don't have time. We need to get started as soon as possible. It's a very serious issue. And aren't you supposed to stop drinking alcohol?"

"The mission can wait a night! It can't be too serious of an issue if there hasn't been an incident in almost a month," Tony said, ignoring the question Steve had asked him.

"But something could happen today! They could be waiting for us to arrive so they can eliminate us, since we're a threat to them! That's why we need to get started as soon as possible. There can't be any dawdling!" Steve exclaimed, crossing his arms across his chest and looking at Tony with his sharp blue eyes.

"But they don't know we're coming. Why would S.H.I.E.L.D.'s files be accessible to anyone besides themselves? I mean, I know I can hack them, but that's only because I'm a genius."

"I'm sure there are other people who can hack files just as good as you can, Stark."

"What's with the last name basis? Is Captain Stars and Stripes mad at me?" Tony smirked.

"You're ignoring what I'm saying," Steve said calmly, although he really wasn't feeling calm at all.

"I'm not. I just acknowledged that you were calling me by my last name."

Steve ran a hand through his hair angrily. He knew Tony was purposefully avoiding what he was saying to annoy him. And boy was it working. Seeing his silence as an opportunity to speak, Tony continued.

"And what about Roxanne? Who's going to babysit her?"

Steve was taken aback. Babysit Roxanne? Why did she need to be watched? She was an adult fully capable of watching after herself.

"No one. Why does she even need it?" He glanced around, trying to spot the girl, but was unable to. Maybe she was in the kitchen.

"Do you really trust her already? She's a mysterious psychopath from S.H.I.E.L.D. Do you expect her to be trusted?" Tony turned a little serious, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Why would S.H.I.E.L.D. give us someone we couldn't trust?" Steve asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Why would S.H.I.E.L.D. have plans to make weapons of mass destruction using the Tesseract?" Tony countered.

He did have a point. Steve shook it off, opting to trust Roxanne until she proved otherwise.

"You're just too suspicious of everything."

"And you're too trusting. So I say you get to babysit her."

Steve's eyes widened slightly, "What? No!"

Tony smirked, "Aww. Scared?"

Steve felt the heat creep up his cheeks, "No!"

"Guys, quit acting like children," Natasha snapped from the table. She apparently had been listening into their conversation the whole time and was just as annoyed, if not more than Steve was.

Tony glanced over, "We're not acting like children. To act like a child, would mean you'd have to _be _a child. And since I'm obviously not a child, I can't be acting like one."

Clint's eyebrows shot up as he glanced at his partner to see what she was going to do. Bruce also looked up from the couch he was sitting on. The female assassin stood up and Steve took a step back. He didn't like to admit it, but Natasha scared him a little. She was just so quiet and _deadly _even though she had no special 'abilities' like everyone else.

"I think you have it the other way around. You _obviously _are a child. Playing with your little toys all day in that lab of yours," she said coolly, folding her arms neatly across her middle.

Tony glanced around for a moment, "They're not toys..."

Natasha could see the weakness in his argument and she took the chance, a smirk growing on her face, "Well then what are they? Metal trinkets? Don't trinkets count as toys?"

Tony simply shrugged, "I'm thirsty."

He retreated to the kitchen. Natasha cocked and eyebrow as she watched the billionaire retreat and turned away to settle down on the couch. Steve decided to sit down next to Bruce and leave Clint and Natasha to themselves. Tony came back in a little while later with Roxanne in tow, who looked moody and irritated.

She carefully sat down on the couch Steve was sitting on, but as far away from the two as possible. She looked a more uncomfortable than anything else. Steve offered her a smile, which she didn't return. He sighed and looked up at the TV. Tony was watching the news. Not feeling interested in the slightest, he turned to Bruce.

He had a book in one hand(as usual) and a pen in the other. A yellow notepad rested on his lap with some notes scribbled down on it. Curiosity getting the better of him, he decided to ask what he was doing.

"What are you working on, Bruce?"

Bruce looked up, removing his glasses from his face and discarding them on his lap, "Just on a cure for...me..."

"Really? I thought you gave up on that?" Steve asked.

Bruce shrugged, "Well I originally did when I realized I could use the Other Guy for help... But he is still too...unpredictable..."

Steve nodded, "Did you have another...episode?" He asked carefully, knowing it was a touchy subject for him.

Bruce hesitated for a moment, "Yes. It was over something so trivial... I was just barely able to make it into the...er...'Hulk Room'..."

Steve nodded. The Hulk Room was for Bruce in cases where he might Hulk-out. Tony added it in when he was rebuilding Stark Tower after the damages done by Loki and the Chituari. It pretty much sealed the deal that Bruce would be staying at Stark tower for at least a little while. He was the first to agree to stay with Tony. Steve was the second. He didn't necessarily like the idea of staying with Tony Stark, but he thought it was best for the team.

Clint and Natasha were the last two to agree. He figured it had something to do with their skill sets and mindsets. Being assassins, he figured they were overly cautious of pretty much everything. Thor never agreed, but that was only because he had another realm to run, though he came to visit at least once a month.

"Are you close to a breakthrough?" Steve asked, glancing at the others.

Tony was snoozing with the remote still in his hand, Natasha and Clint were sleeping splayed across each other, and Roxanne was still awake, but she was fighting off the sleep that threatened to overtake her. Basically everyone except himself and Bruce were sleeping.

"Well no, but I have to keep trying," Bruce said, causing Steve's attention to switch to the scientist.

"I would offer my help, but I don't think I would be any," Steve said with a chuckle.

Bruce chuckled also, "Thanks for the thought."

"No problem," Steve smiled and turned his attention to the news.

A robbery, a fire, and fight had all happened in the last three hours. He watched with mild interest as the news reporter with heavy amounts of make-up explained how the robbery happened. He could feel his mind slipping away from him as he began to doze off.

* * *

Steve stirred awake, vaguely hearing a soft moaning and murmuring from beside him. His eyelids flickered open and he squinted, adjusting to the bright light inside of the airplane. He stretched, yawning and glancing around to see if anyone else was awake. Tony, Clint, and Natasha were still snoozing it up, and even Bruce and Roxanne had fallen asleep. But there was something _wrong._

Roxanne was curled up into a tight ball. Her whole body was twitching and she was moaning something incoherent. Steve thought she was just dreaming, and there was nothing to worry about, but he still had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Deciding to leave her alone, he closed his eyes once again, hoping to sleep for the rest of the flight.

It was only when she continued to twitch and mumble more violently that he began to worry more. Bruce yawned beside him, leaning closer to see what was going on.

"What's happening?" He asked, staring at her with a blank expression.

"I don't know. I think something's wrong..." Steve stood up, kneeling down besides Roxanne and shaking her lightly.

Wrong move on his part.

She jerked away from his touch, her mumblings becoming louder. He could finally make out what she was saying.

"It hurts! No please!"

Steve's heart rate accelerated. Something _was_ wrong. He shook her again, a little more roughly this time. It was the only way he could think of to wake her.

She screamed.

A terrible, heart-wrenching scream. It made him jump back in shock. A minute later, two groggy assassins and one groggy billionaire were at his side. It wasn't all that surprising, since her scream had been quite loud.

"What's wrong with her?" Clint asked, glancing at Natasha as if he was only asking her.

"Stop it! No!"

Natasha's green eyes narrowed as she watched the girl thrash around, "She's having a nightmare. There's no point in trying to wake her. It won't be easy."

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Steve asked, glancing up at her.

She screamed again.

"Wait until it's over," she replied simply.

He wasn't so sure. She was obviously very frightened and under the impression she was in pain and he didn't know if he could stand to watch it. After she screamed and thrashed around some more, he knew he had to stop it. He shook Roxanne again, saying her name a few times.

"Roxanne... Roxanne... You have to wake up..."

After a few more minutes of repeating that and shaking her roughly, she bolted up into a sitting position, panting. Her eyes were wide with fear and her hair was a tangled mess. She blinked, glancing at everyone who surrounded her, and did the thing least expected for her to do. Blush.

"A-are you okay?" Bruce asked almost timidly.

"I-I'm f-fine," she assured, taking deep breaths to calm herself.

"Are you sure? Do you need some water?" Clint asked.

Roxanne shook her head, "I-I'm f-f-fine..."

"You don't look fine," Steve said, catching her gaze.

"I'm f-fine," she said with a bit more authority, pushing Steve away and standing up.

She avoided Tony's attempts to grab her and exited the room hastily. Apparently, she didn't want them to see her at a weak moment. Standing up, Steve let out a long sigh. He was worried about her. But she did need her space and he didn't want to invade it. Feeling conflicted, he sat back down and ran a hand through his hair.

"Did you guys see her eye?" Tony blurted out.

Steve's eyes narrowed, but he said nothing as Bruce, Tony, and Natasha began to discuss what they had seen. He figured Clint didn't join in because he had seen her eye before like he had. It was just awkward to talk about and it wasn't any of their business. A half-hour later, the plane landed smoothly and everyone was itching to get off. Tony had also just located the whereabouts of Roxanne. The bathroom.

He and Bruce were trying to coax her out. Knowing Tony, it wouldn't work out so well. Clint, however, was able to get her out. She looked exhausted, but put on a brave face and stepped off of the plane. She didn't say a word to anyone, and the only person who open their mouth was Tony. Steve tried to ignore the playboy as he stepped off of the plane and into a different country.

* * *

**A/N: I apologize for the OOCness in this chapter. I don't know what happened. I think I need to watch the Avengers again xD Gives me an excuse besides the fact that I'm a crazy fangirl. Anyway, I had fun with outlining this chapter and it actually helped me write more -Is happy- I hoped you enjoy and stay tuned for the next chapter!  
**

**Morgan  
**


	6. Iron Seeker

_A/N: Thank you for all of the reviews! I've made a sort of promise to myself that I will respond to every review, so look for replies at the end of the chapter. Anyway, I'm REALLY sorry for the lack of updating! I hope I didn't loose any of you readers for being neglectful with my stories. I've just been SUPER busy with school and everything else. I've also decided to start two new stories. I know I really shouldn't, but I'll never get all my ideas written if I don't just write them. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!  
_

**Chapter 6: Iron Seeker**_  
_

Almost as soon as they had stepped off the plane, Tony was halfway across the private airport and in one of the three small cars S.H.E.L.D. had left them. Clint massaged his temples, watching the billionaire get into the nicest one and starting it. He had a feeling he knew where this was going... Steve briskly walked towards the cars, but before he even had the chance to get close, Tony stepped on the gas and went speeding out of the airport. grinning at them.

Steve stopped, running a frustrated hand through his hair and Clint knew that Tony would be in big trouble once they caught up to him. Why couldn't Tony just understand that they needed to get this done? Being an assassin, he knew how Steve was feeling. When he and Natasha went on missions, they stuck strictly to the plan and started as soon as they arrived. They couldn't afford to mess up in any way.

Natasha came up silently behind him and gave his shoulder a comforting squeeze. He glanced sideways at her and gave a very subtle smile. Bruce came up beside the two, rubbing his face tiredly.

"I had a feeling he would do something like that," Bruce murmured.

Clint nodded. "Yeah I think all of us besides Steve had that feeling too. Sometimes Steve is too trusting."

Bruce chuckled.

"Yeah. Especially with Tony. He should know by now that Tony is trouble," Natasha said.

Steve turned back around. "I swear he can never act like an adult. We have to go find him. We'll split up. Bruce, you, Roxanne, and Clint, and Natasha you can come with me...If that's okay...?"

The Super Soldier looked to Clint and Natasha, seeming like he didn't want to split them up.

"It's fine, Cap," Natasha interjected.

Clint felt a little annoyed. Natasha didn't want to think anything was going on between them - since Tony had tried to prove it several times - so every time she had the chance to prove it, she did. Nothing was going on between the two at the moment, but they were still good friends and partners, and it hurt when she didn't want to be with him to fix a Tony-spread rumor.

"Alright since there is two more cars, we'll just split up and find Tony. He shouldn't be too hard to find," Steve said, sounding a bit doubtful at his own words.

Clint nodded. "Okay guys, let's head out..."

Roxanne and Bruce moved forward to get into the car closest to them. Clint made to follow, but a hand grasped his shoulder to prevent himself from doing so. He turned to look at Steve, who looked a bit concerned.

"Clint... I'm willing to give Roxanne the benefit of the doubt, but could you...keep an eye on her?" he asked, rubbing his forehead awkwardly.

The archer glanced to the car, where the girl was sitting shotgun, watching them warily from the side mirror. "Yeah. I will."

"Thanks, Clint," the soldier said gratefully, flashing him a small smile before heading over to the other car with Natasha.

With a tired sigh, he made his way over to the driver's side and opened the door. The keys were sitting on the dashboard. He scooped them up and put it in the ignition, closing the door once he had sat down and starting up the car. Clint stepped on the gas and they were out of the airport parking lot in a matter of seconds.

"So any place Tony would be specifically?" he asked the two, trying to get used to the different way of driving in London.

"Any sciencey place? Maybe a music store?" Bruce suggested.

"Weren't you guys paying attention?" Roxanne asked, crossing her arms. "He was talking about going to some wine store around the London Eye. Maybe he's there?"

Clint shrugged. "We can check out all of those places."

It took a little while for them to find out where everything was, but once they did, they were able to make it to the London Eye fairly quickly. Clint parked the car and got out, followed by Roxanne and Bruce. He looked up at the massive Ferris wheel-type ride and he immediately though about how great of a view he would have from up there. He would be able to look out over everything and maybe be able to spot Tony.

"I think we should head up there. It would give me a better view of everything, and if Tony' around here somewhere, I could spot him," he said, turning to look at the two.

"I dunno... Do you think it's a good idea that I'm up there...?" Bruce asked warily.

"You'll be fine, Doc," Roxanne said before striding toward the London Eye. She got about halfway there before she turned around and faced them. "Well what are you waiting for?"

Clint glanced over to Bruce, who sighed, but followed after her. They caught up after a moment and approached the large steel Ferris wheel. The people around them were so busy that Roxanne was able to slip right into the front of the line without being noticed. She then locked eyes with him, smiling broadly.

"Oh there you guys are! I was able to get us a spot. You take too long," she teased, motioning them over.

Several heads turned, but Clint quickly caught on and nudged Bruce, squeezing into the line behind Roxanne.

"Thanks, Jessica. Just had a little run in with traffic. And Will here decided that he was hungry."

Bruce looked around a little nervously, not used to acting like the two assassins were. Clint nudged him again and Bruce decided to at least try and play along.

"Sorry. I didn't have lunch today, so I was starving. Can't ignore your body's need for nutrition!" Bruce winced at these words, realizing how dumb he sounded.

Roxanne laughed, eye sparkling. Clint was a little surprised by her behavior, but he knew she was just acting. He couldn't help but think that she had a great smile. He glanced over to Bruce, who was looking up at the contraption warily.

"What's wrong?" Clint asked him quietly.

Bruce shrugged lightly. "I'm just not sure about going up in the air in a...small metal thing..."

"You'll be fine. You were fine on the hellicarrier many times..."

"But the hellicarrier is huge," Bruce paused, "you know what, don't worry about it. I'll be fine..."

Clint bit the inside of his cheek, but nodded. Since they were already pretty much at the front of the line, they were able to get onto the 'ride' fairly quickly. Roxanne sat down, crossing her legs and looking bored. She was only coming up to let him do his thing. Bruce was looking out of the window, appearing to be a bit stressed out.

Their lift went up and up to the very top and Clint stepped toward the window, looking down into the crowds and scanning it like, well, a hawk. He could practically see every detail of the area down below and he smiled a bit, feeling in his element. He looked around for a few moments, not spotting anyone that looked like Tony until...there! Tony was looking right at him, sticking his tongue out and laughing.

"Guys I see him!"

When no one responded, he turned around, spotting Bruce sitting next to Roxanne, his head in his hands. He briskly walked over. "What's going on?"

"I'm panicking a little," Bruce responded, not looking up.

Roxanne pursed her lips before cautiously putting her hand on his shoulder. "You're going to be fine, Bruce. Just think about what will happen if you loose control. You'll hurt a lot of innocents," she said, her voice oddly calm. "Just take a deep breath. It shouldn't be too much longer..."

Clint stared at her in shock. He had _no _idea that she could be so calming or comforting. Roxanne shot a glare at Clint, but quickly looked back to Bruce to see if he was alright. He took a deep breath and began to slowly relax.

"T-thanks..." Bruce looked over at Roxanne, smiling a little.

Roxanne nodded and scooted away, crossing her arms lazily and looking down at the ground. Clint blinked. Well that was unexpected... He turned back to the window to see that Tony had disappeared again. He gave an irritated sigh and leaned on the wall as they descended. When they finally got off, they had to revise their plan to finding Tony. Going up there was just a waste of time, seeing as Tony had gotten away. He gently massaged his temples.

Clint knew that Tony was a piece of work, but seriously? Did he really have to be this much of a pain in the ass when they had a mission to worry about?

"Alright, new plan. Let's just look through the streets to see if we can find him," he said, frowning slightly.

"That sounds better to me," Bruce muttered.

Roxanne was immediately on the look out at his words, scanning the area and looking for their favorite billionaire.

It was over ten minutes before they finally saw the light. Tony's head could be seen over the top of a shelf in a music store. Clint let out a sigh of relief, indicating to the other two with the jerk of his head that Tony was there. Clint quickly made his way over to the store door, entering. The little bell on the door clanged, causing Tony's head to snap up and spot the archer. Clint cursed, shooting a glare at the blasted little bell.

"Come on Tony. We have work to get done!"

Tony put back the CD he was holding, which appeared to be AC/DC, and sped out right past Clint. The assassin was so surprised that he wasn't quick enough to grab onto the playboy. Clint slapped a hand to his forehead, exiting the store and pushing past Bruce and Roxanne to try and catch up with Stark. Roxanne was just coming up behind him as Tony zig-zagged through the crowd. For a guy who only had an iron suit, he was pretty quick. Clint pushed his legs to go faster, reaching out as he neared Tony.

_I'm going to get you now... _His fingers brushed the cotton of Tony's shirt. The next thing he knew...

WHAM!

The billionaire pushed past a civilian, causing her to stumble back into Clint. The assassin slowed to a stop in order to avoid making the woman fall over. He had been so close!

"Sorry," he muttered to the lady, nodding slightly as she glared at him.

Roxanne stopped beside him, puffing out an irritated breath and tugging at the ends of her hair. "Good job, Barton. Now we could be searching again for hours."

Clint glanced over at her, the feeling of disappointment and failure wash over him. "I wasn't the one who was struggling to keep up."

He turned away, not wanting to talk about it for another moment, and headed back over to where they had left Bruce. The scientist was awkwardly standing back by the music store, wringing his fingers together.

"Should we contact Steve and Natasha?" Bruce asked.

Clint sighed, "probably."

He honestly didn't want to hear Natasha when he told her that he almost caught Tony.

"But it can wait a little. Let's keep looking and if we don't see him again in thirty minutes, we'll tell them what happened."

Bruce nodded while Roxanne stood stiffly with her arms crossed.

The trio then wandered about the area, searching for Stark. There was absolutely no sign of him again and by the time fifteen minutes had elapsed, Clint was getting frustrated.

"Hawkeye," a voice said in his ear, making him jump the slightest. It was Natasha through his comm link. He had forgotten he was wearing one of them.

"Nat? What's going on?" He stopped, holding out his arm to Roxanne and Bruce.

"We've got Stark. Cap is pissed. I don't think I've ever seen him this mad."

He sighed in relief, feeling as if a huge burden had been lifted off his shoulders. "Alright. Meet at the hotel?"

"Affirmative."

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**A/N:  
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**Responses-  
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**Honey-Bee1****28: Thanks :D I'm trying to make my stories a little more detailed, and since the main point of this story is characterization, I decided the little details about her would be pretty important. This is actually my first story where characterization is the prime focus. Mostly my stories are big on plot.  
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******Emberscar- Thank you so much! I'm really glad you're enjoying it! I'm writing as fast as I can, but due to school and trying to keep up some sort of social life with my best friend, I've been having trouble writing. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!  
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******ElektraMackenzie- Thanks so much :D  
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******So anyway, I'm really, REALLY sorry for not updating in a few months. I seriously have barely had the time to write a paragraph a day, not counting the last two weeks, where I have been alternating stories to try and update multiple ones. Hope that this chapter isn't too crappy. Since my schedule has cleared up a bit, I've added two new stories to my agenda. I've already published the first chapter of one of them, but due to popular demand after writing a short story last week or so, I will be writing a Clintasha one. The votes on my poll were tied, so I'm just going to put up a new poll with those two options. If you like Clintasha, or even if you don't, you're welcome to vote. I make no promises as to when I will update this, but I WILL promise that the next chapter will be from Roxanne's POV. Funnily enough, I had no idea what I was going to do for the next chapter, but now that I mentioned a Roxanne chapter, I know EXACTLY what I'm going to do xD Hope you enjoyed!  
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******Mo  
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	7. Nightmares

_A/N: Here we are, guys! I apologize for not updating sooner! I've been busy plus I just really got into Young Justice, so I've been watching that and I already have a two-chapter fic up xD This is the Roxanne chapter! In this chapter, I go a little more in depth about her past, but not all that much! Hopefully you enjoy! :D_

**Chapter 7: Nightmares**

Roxanne could hear Steve's shouting before they even pulled into the parking lot. She couldn't blame him because she herself was rather irritated with Tony's immature antics. Tony was just annoying in general. She stepped out of the car after it had parked, moving back to the trunk and getting her small bag out. As she waited for Clint and Bruce, she tuned into the conversation. It wasn't all that had since they were being so loud.

"Just let loose a little, Cap! It's not like we don't have time to burn!"

"We need to focus on what we were sent to do here, Stark! You deciding to take off and play hide-and-go-seek wasted a good chunk of the time we could have used to plan out our tactics for tomorrow morning!"

"We don't even really know where we are supposed to be! So how are we supposed to plan out tactics?"

"That's exactly _why _we need to plan things out!"

"We can plan it out before we go to sleep, if that'll untwist your red, white, and blue panties."

"It's already getting late and we need rest after chasing you around for half the day, so no, we don't have the time! If you don't start acting like an adult, I have no problems with calling Fury and having him take you off mission."

"You're no fun, Capsicle," Tony whined before turning and heading into the hotel.

Captain ran a frustrated hand through his hair as Clint came up beside him. "There's no point in stressing over it now. What's done is done."

"You're right," Steve agreed immediately, taking a deep breath. "Let's get inside."

Roxanne rolled her eyes. _About time..._ The small group of six gathered in the main lobby. Clint was quick to volunteer his services for checking in, since he was one of the least known in the group. As she looked around the small lobby area, she couldn't help but notice how dirty and disgusting it was. The few pieces of furniture that were in the room, were ratty and torn, the wood floors were scuffed and scratched, and the lights were so dim that it was hard to see properly.

"Do we usually get run-down hotels?" Roxanne asked with a snort as she watched the guy at the desk rush to get keys for their rooms. He probably hadn't had business in weeks.

"Yes," Natasha replied, glancing up as Clint came back over with three keys.

"Two beds in each room. Figured we can split up into groups of two. Natasha and Roxanne, Steve and I, and Bruce and Tony," the archer explained.

"Sounds good to me," Steve agreed, seemingly glad to not have to bunk with Tony.

"Here are your keys." Clint handed Natasha one key and handed another to Bruce, who was trying to keep it out of Tony's reach.

"So we take the rest of the night to rest up. We can all meet down here at 8 am sharp," Steve said.

Four heads nodded while Roxanne simply stared at him. Natasha glanced between the two for a moment.

"Come on, Roxanne."

Roxanne sighed, turning to follow the other assassin to their room. She didn't particularly want to share a room with anyone. Especially with her...strange sleeping habits... Her insides churned at the thought of anything else happening like earlier on the plane. She needed to keep her guard up more. She wouldn't sleep tonight. She had done it many times before. Why was now any different?

They only paused for a moment so Natasha could open the door. Once they were inside the hotel room, Roxanne wrinkled her nose. She wasn't the type of girl to want everything clean and perfect, but _this _was just ridiculous. The bed sheets were torn, the lights were so dim that the walls looked dirty(or maybe they just were?), and the carpet wheezed up dust every time she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Natasha didn't seem to mind though, and she set her bag down on the bed closest to the door. Roxanne moved over to the other bed and set her own bag down.

"I'm taking a shower," Natasha said bluntly, pulling some things out of her bags before moving into the bathroom and shutting the door behind her.

Sighing, Roxanne plopped down on her bed, glancing around the room. He eyes landed on the remote on the bedside table and she picked it up. She would be lucky if the television even worked. She pressed the power button and to her luck, the screen lit right up. She put her feet up on the bed and leaned back against the headboard, watching to see what was on. It seemed like some sort of crime show.

She wasn't really a fan of shows like that, but the TV kept her awake and that was all that mattered. She couldn't fall asleep again today. Determined to stay awake, the assassin sat up and crossed her legs, staring intently at the TV to try and keep her mind occupied. By the time Natasha got out of the shower, she felt she was doing pretty good. She wasn't tired at all.

"I'm...going to sleep," Natasha said, causing Roxanne to glance over and see her slip a gun under her pillow.

Roxanne nodded as the other assassin laid down facing the door. She was a bit relieved that Natasha was going to sleep now. She didn't want her to ask why she was staying up so late. Not that Natasha was the type of person to do so. It was only an hour later that Roxanne saw the deep sigh Natasha let out and she knew that she was fully asleep.

* * *

It was a little past 3 am and Roxanne's body was screaming for sleep. She kept focus on the TV, but even that was starting to get old. She hadn't slept properly in days and it was starting to catch up to her. Even the short nap she took on the plane wasn't enough to make her feel a little better. Her eyelids were like rocks and her body ached all over like she had gotten hit by a bus. Slowly, she turned over on her side, giving in to her body's need of sleep.

_Roxanne nervously tugged at her hair as she entered the large university. Her bangs were a lot shorter, just barely brushing the tops of her eyebrows and she had no scar... The shy, young girl brushed past several students, trying to find her Advanced Biology classroom. She had a passion for science and literature. She smiled when she found her classroom and entered. She was the first student there. The teacher wasn't even there either... She set her books down on a table in the front, glancing round for any sign of someone._

_"...Hello...?"_

_A moment later, a tall young man was stumbling into the room, arms full of books. He had short, messy blond hair with dark brown eyes. Glasses that should have been neatly on his face were askew due to the books in his arms. Roxanne couldn't help but blush. Was he their teacher? If so, he was pretty young..._

_"Hi there. You in this class?" he asked, dumping the books on his desk and fixing his glasses._

_She nodded slowly. "Yes. I'm Roxanne Barnes..."_

_He quickly shuffled through some papers on the desk, trying to find his attendee list. _

_"Sorry," he apologized, "this is my first year teaching..."_

_"Um yeah, you looked kinda young... I mean...," Roxanne trailed, feeling suddenly rude for saying that. "I'm sorry..."_

_He smiled. "It's alright. I'm only 26, if you were wondering. While we're on the topic of age, how old are you?"_

_She shifted nervously. "I'm 23..."_

_He smiled warmly. "Well, Roxanne Barnes of 23, why don't you take a seat while we wait for the others?"_

_Roxanne nodded, slipping into her seat while a few other students filed in. Everything suddenly shifted to dark and all Roxanne could feel was immense pain. Her heart pounded ferociously in her chest. She tried to open her eyes, but couldn't and the pain intensified. She let out a mangled scream._

Roxanne bolted up in her bed, panting like a dog. Her body was coated in sweat and a stray tear escaped the corner of her eye. She shakily wiped it away, moving her hand to feel her pulse. She couldn't determine one beat from the next. Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm her body down. It was only a dream. Only a messed up, terrifying, painful dream... Unable to get her body to stop shaking, she quickly stood up, exiting the hotel room to walk around for a bit. It was always how she got herself to calm down... There were other ways too, but she couldn't afford to do them right now while she was on this mission with the others...

Unknown to her, a pair of green eyes watched her as she left the room...

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**A/N: Not as good as I wanted it to be, but sorry that's because I've been so busy and I can barely write a paragraph a day D: I didn't want you to see too much of Roxanne's past just yet, but it will slowly reveal as the fic moves on. I'm going to try and update soon, but no guarantees, as I have four other stories to write... Although one is ending soon, so it'll free me up a bit! Anyway, hope you liked and sorry for the delay and shortness!**

**Mo**


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